What I saw while on a NE Portland Kerns Neighborhood Walk with Lamont, Sunday, January 5, 2014, No. 1

The flick of a squirrel's tail caught my eye about two thirds of the way up a utility pole on the corner outside my apartment building--the two of us were headed inside to eat a bowl of homemade chili before Lamont walked back to his house in Southeast Portland. Quickly the squirrel stuck the landing after jumping onto the wire. I didn't get my camera up in time to catch that leap, but I did manage to capture most of its quick journey.

I wish that I had been able to get that photo. But even more, I would have loved to have photographed another squirrel that Lamont and I saw at the beginning of our walk. As we passed beside a slender, leafless tree, I heard a rustling sound to my right where Lamont walked. I asked him if he'd hit a low branch on the tree. He told me no, that he thought it was a squirrel. We both stopped, look back around at the tree, just in time to see the squirrel leap from that slender tree right across the entire sidewalk into the side of a thick hedge! Both of us laughed out loud it total surprise at what we'd seen.
 

The squirrel sort of leaped along the wire, heading west.
 

That bushy tail must help balance the little creature as it speeds along. It appears to be vibrating--look at that blur.
 

Easy to see how a squirrel can sort of disappear in the branches--coloring and speed play a part for sure. And no, the squirrel's legs haven't all of a sudden become longer. I quickly leaped from the wire onto that limb.



When it jumped back to the wire, it landed sort of out of balance for a split second before continuing on its way.



Little feet flying on that narrow wire high up in the air.
 

Quickly the squirrel scurried out of sight. Standing beside me on the sidewalk, Lamont asked if I got any photos of that quick trip and was tickled when I showed this last one to him. I told him that I thought I had enough to make a post called, "The Tale of the Tail." Pretty cool to get this series of photos in my neighborhood since I've seen few squirrels in the almost three years I lived here. And I wonder if it was the same squirrel who had vaulted overhead from three to hedge at the start of our walk?

He spells it clinker, she spells it klinker, but it's all brick to me.

On May 19 I enjoyed an Architectural Heritage Center Neighborhood Walk, through the Hollywood District. We saw lots of interesting houses and buildings, heard lots of interesting history, and walked lots and lots of blocks. Since I don't have house architecture styles memorized, I can't remember what we saw where, drat it. But I can remember clinker bricks. I've had some fun with Picnik on these photos.


Here's a close-up photo of the same front porch column. I wonder if it is completely made of clinkers or if they just cover the column?


Around the corner and down the block, more clinkers decorate this porch.


I saw this house before the one that is in the top photo, but seeing the clinkers painted gray bothered me too much to put this house as the first photo. However, I have altered the photo in Picnik so that you can see the design developed with the clinker bricks. And thank goodness the person who wielded that doggone paint brush didn't get up on the roof and paint the chimneys!

I think you'll learn lots from this Old House Journal article, “The Accidental Charm of Clinker Bricks”.

And here's some info from Wikipedia: Clinker bricks are partially vitrified brick stones used in the construction of buildings.
Clinkers are burnt under temperatures so high that the pores of the fuel property are closed by the beginning sinter process. Thus they are considerably denser and therefore heavier than regular bricks. Clinkers hardly take up water and are very resistant.
In early brick firing kilns, the surface of the bricks that were too close to the fire changed into the volcanic textures and darker/purplish colors. They were often discarded, but around 1900, these bricks were discovered by architects to be usable, distinctive and charming in architectural detailing, adding the earthy quality favored by Arts & Crafts style designers. Modern brick-making techniques can recreate the appearance of these bricks and produce a more consistent product.
In the United States, clinker bricks were made famous by the Pasadena, California architecture firm Greene and Greene who used them (often in combination with native rocks) in walls, foundations, and chimneys.

Blue sky really does happen in Portland, in a very big way!

I saw it last Thursday, about 6:20 p.m. as I approached the Hollywood Theater to meet the group about to embark on the Hollywood Neighborhood Walk, thanks to the Architectural Historical Center.

We walked for two hours, seeing lots of houses and buildings in the neighborhood, hearing all about them. I thought it particularly interesting that this movie theater is what gave the neighborhood its name and that the guide said he couldn't think of another Portland neighborhood which got its name that way.

More photos soon.